White supremacist receives life sentence for kidnapping, murdering Springdale man
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A Fort Smith man received a life sentence on April 21 in federal court in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a Springdale man in 2021, according to federal court documents.
Court records show 46-year-old Daniel Blanks was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for aiding and abetting kidnapping resulting in death. He pleaded guilty to that charge in federal court on Oct. 25, 2024.
Court documents say that in November 2021, Blanks and his co-defendant, Reginald Baker, 37, of Seligman, Missouri, drove to Richard Phillips's apartment.
Witnesses said the men, armed with shotguns, entered Phillip's apartment, assaulted and beat him. They then dragged him down a staircase and put him in the bed of Blanks' truck.
Documents say the two took Phillips to the Mark Twain National Park in Barry County, Missouri, where he was shot multiple times.
Phillps' body was left for days until a hunter eventually found him in a heavily wooded logging road.
The two were later arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Baker and Blanks were charged in Washington County with capital murder, kidnapping and residential burglary on Nov. 29, 2021.
On April 5, 2024, Baker pleaded guilty to accomplice to first-degree murder, accomplice to kidnapping, and accomplice to residential burglary. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison with 40 years of supervised release.
During Blanks' sentencing hearing on April 21, Judge Timothy Brooks cited his affiliation with white supremacist groups as an aggravating factor in deciding the life sentence.
The Springdale Police Department, Barry County Missouri Sheriff’s Office, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Bentonville Police Department and Arkansas Office of Probation and Parole investigated the case.
Blanks still faces charges in Washington County. He had a status hearing scheduled for April 22.
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